URUGUAY: ENIGMATIC FIREBALL CAUSES CONCERN

Windows shuddered at Colonia de Sacramento and a powerful beam of light was seen in the heavens. The hypotheses were put forth by a military man on Radio 10.

Uruguayans are still wondering what it was. An hitherto unexplained event occurred in recent days.

Residents of Puerto Sauce and Colonia claim having seen "a very intense beam of light that appeared suddenly in the heavens." They also claim that there was a deafening sound and that windows rattled in the communities' homes.

In a dialogue with Radio 10, Col. Jose Luis Vignoli, press officer for the Uruguayan Air Force, said that "a missile was involved."

The military man said that "the control tower at Carrasco Airport received signals from two airliners." One of the pilots, a Lufthansa captain, reported seeing a luminous object.

The airliner had taken off from Buenos Aires' Ezeiza Airport and was in the vicinity of Carrasco. The pilot contacted the tower again, describing the object as "very luminous" as if resembling "a fireball".

Later on, another aircraft -- a courier flight by a Uruguayan air force pilot -- also reported a luminous object crossing the heavens.

This pilot reported seeing an intense reflection against the waters of the River Plate and that it could be a rocket or missile. The man further described tongues of flame in an ascending direction.

The second pilot also said that the flames could be from the afterburners of another aircraft. Afterburners enable pilots to obtain maximum acceleration in a matter of seconds.

It is based on these descriptions that the UAF believes that the unknown object could be a "missile", although the mystery deepens, since Uruguay lacks missile bases or launching facilities.

Vignoli explained on Radio 10: "We can neither confirm nor affirm anything at this time," rejecting the possibility that it could be related to matters "extraterrestrial"

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